Description: A comprehensive understanding of the deep-sea environment and mining’s likely impacts is necessary to assess whether and under what conditions deep-seabed mining operations comply with the International Seabed Authority’s obligations to prevent ‘serious harm’ and ensure the ‘effective protection of the marine environment from harmful effects’ in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. A synthesis of the peer-reviewed literature and consultations with deep-seabed mining stakeholders revealed that, despite an increase in deep-sea research, there are few categories of publicly available scientific knowledge comprehensive enough to enable evidence-based decision-making regarding environmental management, including whether to proceed with mining in regions where exploration contracts have been granted by the International Seabed Authority. Further information on deep-sea environmental baselines and mining impacts is critical for this emerging industry. Closing the scientific gaps related to deep-seabed mining is a monumental task that is essential to fulfilling the overarching obligation to prevent serious harm and ensure effective protection, and will require clear direction, substantial resources, and robust coordination and collaboration. Based on the information gathered, we propose a potential high-level road map of activities that could stimulate a much-needed discussion on the steps that should be taken to close key scientific gaps before any exploitation is considered. These steps include the definition of environmental goals and objectives, the establishment of an international research agenda to generate new deep-sea environmental, biological, and ecological information, and the synthesis of data that already exist.

Description: Contains various examples and applications of visual data exploration and computational approaches. Includes a framework and its application for the evaluation of the success of research projects Provides in depth examples of SMART monitoring and data FAIRness

Description: Highlights • Subaqueous spreading occurs on gently inclined surfaces (〈3°). • Gliding planes could be clays or sandy materials undergoing loss of strength. • It is documented on some of the largest marine landslides. • SubSpread Database includes 32 case studies. • Contourite and glaciogenic deposits represent often the slipping surfaces. Abstract Subaqueous spreading, a type of extensional mass transport that is characterized by a ridge and trough morphology, has been documented globally but is poorly understood. Subaqueous spreading is observed on gently inclined surfaces (typically 〈3°) when sediment bodies experience a sudden reduction of shear strength along their basal plane during clay softening or liquefaction of sands or silty sand sediment. Historically, spreading has been associated with very large landslides, but many unknown aspects of these mass movements have yet to be clarified. Does spreading influences the large catastrophic failure? What are the sedimentological and morphological aspects that contribute in initiating this process? These are some of the research questions that spurred the present work. Here, we introduce a database that incorporates information from thirty-two case studies, and use this to provide key insights into the sedimentary and morphological aspects of subaqueous spreading that will assist in the identification of spreading elsewhere. We find that subaqueous spreading is most common along passive glacial margins, but is also observed along active margins. The occurrence of contourites interlayered with glaciogenic deposits is, in most cases, associated with landslides (or landslide complexes) with spreading morphology. The database shows that seismic loading is commonly suggested to be the dominant trigger mechanism, although more geotechnical observations and modelling analysis would be needed to support this conclusion. We compare subaqueous spreading with terrestrial spreading, in particular to earthquake-related lateral spreading and clay landslides. We find that subaqueous spreading shares the same driving processes and potentially also some of the trigger mechanisms that are associated with the terrestrial spreading cases. Future work will be required to address the association between spreading and its occurrence on some of the largest landslides on Earth, its development mechanism, and its potential hazard implications.

Description: Highlights • Climate engineering presents a novel challenge for global environmental governance • Institutional and discursive structures co-shape global environmental governance • A lack of joint analyses of both structures impedes understanding of governance emergence • A joint neo-institutionalist and post-structuralist analysis addresses this gap • Varying structures shape differing climate engineering governance decisions in several forums Abstract The Anthropocene is giving rise to novel challenges for global environmental governance. The barriers and opportunities shaping the ways in which some of these complex environmental challenges become governable on the global level are of increasing academic and practical relevance. In this article, we bring neo-institutionalist and post-structuralist perspectives together in an innovative framework to analyse how both institutional and discursive structures together bound and shape the global governance opportunities which become thinkable and practicable in the face of new global environmental challenges. We apply this framework to explore how governance of climate engineering – large scale, deliberate invention into the global climate system – is being shaped by discursive and institutional structures in three international forums: The London Convention and its Protocol, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the United Nations Environment Assembly. We illustrate that the ‘degree of fit’ between discursive and institutional structures made climate engineering (un)governable in each of these forums. Furthermore, we find that the ‘type of fit’ set the discursive and institutional conditions of possibility for what type of governance emerged in each of these cases. Based on our findings, we critically discuss the implications for the future governance of climate engineering at the global level.

Description: The presence of tipping points in ecological systems implies abrupt changes in the dynamics of the ecosystem. In these piecewise-smooth dynamical systems sliding dynamics, i.e., dynamics on the switching boundary, have been reported for population models. However, the question whether or not, and if so under which conditions, sliding dynamics may occur in an optimally controlled system have not yet been studied. We explore this issue in a simple harvesting model with two regimes, and find that optimal sliding may occur if regular steady states do not exist. Hence, sliding dynamics may be part of an optimal policy.

Description: Dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and carbon monoxide (CO) are climate-relevant trace gases that play key roles in the radiative budget of the Arctic atmosphere. Under global warming, Arctic sea ice retreats at an unprecedented rate, altering light penetration and biological communities, and potentially affect DMS and CO cycling in the Arctic Ocean. This could have socio-economic implications in and beyond the Arctic region. However, little is known about CO production pathways and emissions in this region and the future development of DMS and CO cycling. Here we summarize the current understanding and assess potential future changes of DMS and CO cycling in relation to changes in sea ice coverage, light penetration, bacterial and microalgal communities, pH and physical properties. We suggest that production of DMS and CO might increase with ice melting, increasing light availability and shifting phytoplankton community. Among others, policy measures should facilitate large-scale process studies, coordinated long term observations and modelling efforts to improve our current understanding of the cycling and emissions of DMS and CO in the Arctic Ocean and of global consequences.

Description: Epibenthic dinoflagellates occur globally and include many toxin-producing species of concern to human health and benthic ecosystem function. Such benthic harmful algal blooms (BHABs) have been well described from tropical and sub-tropical coastal environments, but assessments from north temperate waters, e.g., northern Europe, and polar regions are scarce. The present study addressed the biodiversity and distribution of potentially toxic epibenthic dinoflagellate populations along the west coast of Sweden (Kattegat-Skagerrak) by morphological and molecular criteria. Morphological analysis conducted by light- and electron-microscopy was then linked by DNA barcoding of the V4 region of 18S rRNA gene sequences to interpret taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships. The presence of two potentially toxigenic epibenthic dinoflagellates, Prorocentrum lima (Ehrenberg) F.Stein and Coolia monotis Meunier was confirmed, along with a description of their spatial and temporal distribution. For P. lima, one third of the cell abundance values exceeded official alarm thresholds for potentially toxic BHAB events (〉1000 cells gr–1 of macroalgae fresh weight). The same species were recorded consecutively for two summers, but without significant temporal variation in cell densities. SEM analyses confirmed the presence of other benthic Prorocentrum species: P. fukuyoi complex, P. cf. foraminosum and P. cf. hoffmannianum. Analyses of the V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene also indicated the presence P. compressum, P. hoffmannianum, P. foraminosum, P. fukuyoi, and P. nanum. These findings provide the first biogeographical evidence of toxigenic benthic dinoflagellates along the west coast of Sweden, in the absence of ongoing monitoring to include epibenthic dinoflagellates. Harmful events due to the presence of Coolia at shellfish aquaculture sites along the Kattegat-Skagerrak are likely to be rather marginal because C. monotis is not known to be toxigenic. In any case, as a preliminary assessment, the results highlight the risk of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) events caused by P. lima, which may affect the development and sustainability of shellfish aquaculture in the region.

Description: Biological hard tissues are a rich source of design concepts for the generation of advanced materials. They represent the most important library of information on the evolution of life and its environmental conditions. Organisms produce soft and hard tissues in a bottom-up process, a construction principle that is intrinsic to biologically secreted materials. This process emerged early on in the geological record, with the onset of biological mineralization. The phylum Brachiopoda is a marine animal group that has an excellent and continuous fossil record from the early Cambrian to the Recent. Throughout this time interval, the Brachiopoda secreted phosphate and carbonate shells and populated many and highly diverse marine habitats. This required great flexibility in the adaptation of soft and hard tissues to the different marine environments and living conditions. This review presents, juxtaposes and discusses the main modes of mineral and biopolymer organization in Recent, carbonate shell-producing, brachiopods. We describe shell tissue characteristics for taxa of the orders Rhynchonellida, Terebratulida, Thecideida and Craniida. We highlight modes of calcite and organic matrix assembly at the macro-, micro-, and nano-scales based on results obtained by Electron Backscatter Diffraction, Atomic Force Microscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy. We show variation in composite hard tissue organization for taxa with different lifestyles, visualize nanometer-scale calcite assemblies for rhynchonellide and terebratulide fibers, highlight thecideide shell microstructure, texture and chemistry characteristics, and discuss the feasibility to use thecideide shells as archives of proxies for paleoenvironment and paleoclimate reconstructions.

Description: Global increases in mean temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns due to climate change, coupled with anthropogenic pathways, have intensified biological invasions of pest insects. Continuous exposure to bouts of acute and chronic heat and fasting stresses (during e.g., droughts) might improve performance under recurring stresses, therefore enhancing/reducing fitness within- or across- life stages (i.e., ‘carry-over’ effects). Here, we examined developmental acclimation effects in the invasive fall army worm Spodoptera frugiperda — a highly invasive economic insect pest of cereal crops, particularly maize — using standardized heat tolerance metrics. Specifically, we assessed the effects of acute (3h) and chronic (3 days) heat treatments (at 32°C, 35°C, 38°C), as well as fasting (48h), on 3rd instar larvae, and tested fitness traits (critical thermal maxima [CTmax] and heat knockdown time [HKDT]) at a later life stage (4th/5th larval instar). Acclimation to heat stress and fasting had significant fitness costs (lower CTmax) across majority of treatments. However, both heat and fasting acclimation improved HKDT (except for 35 and 38°C [acute acclimation] and 35°C [chronic acclimation]). Our results suggest context-specific developmental acclimation costs and benefits in S. frugiperda. In particular, heat and fasting acclimation potentially have fitness costs and benefits for subsequent developmental stages facing high temperature stress. These results are important for estimating the effects of prior stressful events on future survival of invasive insect species and may be significant in predicting pest population dynamics under changing environmental conditions.

Description: Highlights: • The global economic costs of invasive aquatic crustaceans totalled US$ 271 million. • Invasive crayfish and crabs had the highest costs, US$ 120.5 and US$ 150.2 million, respectively. • The signal crayfish was the costliest species (US$ 103.9 million), as seen in Europe. • Among crabs, the European green crab and the Chinese mitten crab had the highest costs. • Taxonomic, geographical, and temporal gaps mean that these costs are severely underestimated. Abstract: Despite voluminous literature identifying the impacts of invasive species, summaries of monetary costs for some taxonomic groups remain limited. Invasive alien crustaceans often have profound impacts on recipient ecosystems, but there may be great unknowns related to their economic costs. Using the InvaCost database, we quantify and analyse reported costs associated with invasive crustaceans globally across taxonomic, spatial, and temporal descriptors. Specifically, we quantify the costs of prominent aquatic crustaceans — crayfish, crabs, amphipods, and lobsters. Between 2000 and 2020, crayfish caused US$ 120.5 million in reported costs; the vast majority (99%) being attributed to representatives of Astacidae and Cambaridae. Crayfish-related costs were unevenly distributed across countries, with a strong bias towards European economies (US$ 116.4 million; mainly due to the signal crayfish in Sweden), followed by costs reported from North America and Asia. The costs were also largely predicted or extrapolated, and thus not based on empirical observations. Despite these limitations, the costs of invasive crayfish have increased considerably over the past two decades, averaging US$ 5.7 million per year. Invasive crabs have caused costs of US$ 150.2 million since 1960 and the ratios were again uneven (57% in North America and 42% in Europe). Damage-related costs dominated for both crayfish (80%) and crabs (99%), with management costs lacking or even more under-reported. Reported costs for invasive amphipods (US$ 178.8 thousand) and lobsters (US$ 44.6 thousand) were considerably lower, suggesting a lack of effort in reporting costs for these groups or effects that are largely non-monetised. Despite the well-known damage caused by invasive crustaceans, we identify data limitations that prevent a full accounting of the economic costs of these invasive groups, while highlighting the increasing costs at several scales based on the available literature. Further cost reports are needed to better assess the true magnitude of monetary costs caused by invasive aquatic crustaceans.